This month has seen a number of big earnings calls where tech companies reveal their plans for the coming year

Spotify is no different, with CEO Daniel Ek revealing during a conference call last week that a more expensive Spotify Deluxe tier will be coming to the music streaming service later this year (via Android Authority)

This news is not necessarily surprising, as rumors of a “Supreme” or Hi-Fi plan date back to 2022; in June, rumors of a Supreme again popped up from Bloomberg, which claimed it would be coming soon

Even with Ek's announcement, it is unclear when the potentially “enhanced” tier will be released Meanwhile, Spotify is raising prices this summer for the second time this year and removing features from its basic plan

The expected price for the deluxe tier may be around $17 or $18 per month, about $5 more than the premium plan currently offered

“It's probably going to be in the $17 or $18 range, but it's like a deluxe version of Spotify with all the benefits that regular Spotify has, but with more control and overall higher quality,” Ek said

This “higher quality” may refer to the high fidelity features that are said to be coming to Spotify

The plan is still in the “early stages,” but Ek seems to think it's what consumers are looking for

If Spotify actually releases a Deluxe tier with Hi-Fi, who will pay for it, since competitors like Amazon and Apple Music already offer lossless high-fidelity audio for the same price as Spotify's current Premium tier

Music streamers need something to make the prospect of a nearly $20/month plan more valuable to consumers than the addition of hi-fi audio At this point, Ek and Spotify in general are very vague about their plans for the Deluxe plan and Hi-Fi

Apparently, Ek believes that the Deluxe plan will “have a greater impact on the music industry” In the meantime, we'll twiddle our thumbs while we wait for the Hi-Fi upgrade that we're told is sure to come one day